The early history of Wichita Falls well into the 20th century also rests on the work of two entrepreneurs, Joseph A. Kemp[11] and his brother-in-law, Frank Kell. Kemp and Kell were pioneers in food processing and retailing, flour milling, railroads, cattle, banking, and oil.[12]

A flood in 1886 destroyed the original falls on the Wichita River for which the city was named.[13] After nearly 100 years of visitors wanting to visit the non-existent falls, the city built an artificial waterfall beside the river in Lucy Park. The recreated falls are 54 feet (16 m) high and recirculate at 3,500 gallons per minute. They are visible to south-bound traffic on Interstate 44.

The city is currently seeking funding to rebuild and restore the downtown area.[6] Downtown Wichita Falls was the city's main shopping area for many years, but lost ground to the creation of new shopping centers throughout the city beginning with Parker Square in 1953 and other similar developments during the 1960s and 1970s, culminating with the opening of Sikes Senter Mall in 1974.

A devastating tornado hit the north and northwest portions of Wichita Falls along with Sheppard Air Force Base during the afternoon of April 3, 1964 leaving 7 dead, more than 100 injured and causing roughly $15 million in property damage with approximately 225 homes destroyed and another 250 damaged. It was rated an F5, the highest rating on the Fujita Scale, but it is overshadowed by the 1979 tornado.[14]

An F4 tornado struck the heavily populated southern sections of Wichita Falls in the late afternoon on Tuesday, April 10, 1979 (known locally as "Terrible Tuesday"). It was part of an outbreak that produced 30 tornadoes around the region. Despite having nearly an hour's advance warning that severe weather was imminent, 42 people were killed (25 in vehicles) and 1,800 were injured because it arrived just in time for many people to be driving home from work.[15] It left 20,000 people homeless and caused $400 million in damage, a U.S. record not topped by an individual tornado until the F5 Moore-Oklahoma City tornado of May 3, 1999.[16]

Wichita Falls is about 15 miles (24 km) south of the border with Oklahoma, 115 miles (185 km) northwest of Fort Worth, and 140 miles (230 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 70.71 square miles (183.1 km2) of which 70.69 square miles (183.1 km2) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.052 km2) (0.03%) is water.[17]

Wichita Falls experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa), with some of the highest summer daily maximum temperatures in the entire U.S. outside of the Desert Southwest. Temperatures have hit 100 °F (38 °C) as early as March 27 and as late as October 17, but more typically reach that level on 28 days annually, and there are 102 days of 90 °F (32 °C)+ annually; the average window for the latter mark is April 9–October 10. On the other end, there are 59–60 nights of freezing lows, and 4.8 days where the high does not rise above freezing. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 42.0 °F (5.6 °C) in January to 84.4 °F (29.1 °C) in July. Extremes in temperature have ranged from −12 °F (−24 °C) on January 4, 1947 to 117 °F (47 °C) on June 28, 1980. Snowfall is sporadic and averages 4.1 inches (10 cm) per season, while rainfall is typically greatest in early summer.

In September 2011 Wichita Falls became the first Texas city[18] to have 100 days of 100 °F (38 °C) in one year.[a]

During the 2015 Texas–Oklahoma floods, Wichita Falls broke its all-time record for the wettest month, with 17.00 inches of rain recorded in May 2015.[20]

See also 2010–13 Southern United States drought. Wichita Falls is no longer experiencing drought conditions. During a three week period in May of 2015, 17 inches of rain filled the City's water source lakes, Arrowhead and Kickapoo, ending the drought. The lakes went from just below 19% capacity to 100% capacity. The drought began in 2011 when the city experienced 100 days of 100 degree weather and a significant decline in annual rainfall. The city averages 28.5 inches of rain a year. In 2011 the city received only 13 inches; 2012 19.75 inches and in 2013 23 inches. The city implemented significant conservation efforts and constructed a Direct Potable Reuse System (DPR) that took treated wastewater, which normally emptied into the Wichita River, and sent it to the water treatment plant where it was blended with raw lake water and treated a total of five times through various cleaning processes all approved and monitored by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality The blended and treated water was then placed into the water system. City Mayor Glenn Barham explained “This reuse system will put five million gallons [of water] back in the distribution system each day. The city saves five million gallons from being taken out of the lake.” Within 7 months the DPR produced 1 billion gallons of source water. [23][24][25]

The Kell House, located across from the First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, was inhabited by members of the Kell family from 1910 to 1980. It was turned into a museum after the death of Willie May Kell, daughter of entrepreneur Frank Kell and the former Lula Kemp, sister of another Wichita Falls business pioneer Joseph A. Kemp.

Kemp Center for the Arts

Downtown Wichita Falls with location of the first Zales jewelry store on front left, Holt Hotel on front right, American Bank and Trust Company in back right and Wichita Tower on back left

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 104,197 people, 37,970 households, and 24,984 families residing in the city.[29] The population density was 1,474.1 inhabitants per square mile (569.2/km2). There were 41,916 housing units at an average density of 593.0 per square mile (229.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 75.11% White, 12.40% African American, 0.86% Native American, 2.20% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 6.39% from other races, and 2.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.98% of the population.[29]

There were 37,970 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.04.[29]

In the city the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 15.2% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 106.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.7 males.[29]

The median income for a household in the city was $32,554, and the median income for a family was $39,911. Males had a median income of $27,609 versus $21,877 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,761. About 10.8% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.[29]

Nearby Lake Wichita was dredged in 1901 at a cost of $175,000 through the efforts of entrepreneur Joseph Kemp. There is a 234-acre (95 ha) Lake Wichita Park on the north shore of the lake. This park offers a 2.6-mile concrete hiking and bicycling trail that runs from the southern tip of the park at Fairway Avenue to the dam. The trail resumes northward to Lucy Park. The park has a playground, basketball goals, and multiple picnic areas. There is a 10-unit picnic shelter that can seat sixty persons and is available for renting. The park also has two lighted baseball and two-lighted softball fields, three lighted football fields, and an 18-hole disc golf course. The park has the only model airplane landing strip in the Texas state park system. There is an off-leash dog park.[31]

Because of drought, the fish population in Lake Wichita has been damaged by golden alga blooms and periods of low dissolved oxygen. Therefore, the lake is not recommended in 2013 as a destination for fishing.[32] When available, the fish population consists mostly of white bass, hybrid striped bass, channel catfish, and white crappie. Camping facilities are also available.[33]

Lucy Park is a 170-acre (69 ha) park with a log cabin, duck pond, swimming pool, playground, a frisbee golf course, and picnic areas. It has multiple paved walkways suitable for walking, running, biking, or rollerskating, including a river walk that goes to a re-creation of the original falls for which the city was named (the original falls were destroyed in a 19th-century flood; the new falls were built in response to numerous tourist requests to visit the "Wichita Falls"). It is one of thirty-seven parks throughout the city. The parks range in size from small neighborhood facilities to the 258 acres of Weeks Park featuring the Champions Course at Weeks Park, an 18 hole golf course. In addition, there is an off-leash dog park within Lake Wichita Park and a skatepark adjacent to the city's Softball Complex. There are also unpaved trails for off-road biking and hiking.[citation needed]

The Mayor of Wichita Falls is Glenn Barham. The Wichita Falls City Council has six members: Ben Hoover, Michael Smith, Annetta Pope-Dotson, Brian Hooker, Tim Ingle, and Tom Quintero. The City Manager is Darron Leiker.

Wichita Falls is the western terminus for Interstate 44. U.S. Highways leading to or through Wichita Falls include 287, 277, 281, and 82. State Highway 240 ends at Wichita Falls and State Highway 79 runs through it. Wichita Falls has one of the largest numbers of freeway mileage for a city of its size[citation needed] as a result of a 1954 bond issue approved by city and county voters to purchase right-of-way for several expressway routes through the city and county, the first of which was opened in 1958 as an alignment of U.S. 287 from Eighth Street at Broad and Holliday streets northwestward across the Wichita River and bisecting Lucy and Scotland parks to the Old Iowa Park Road, the original U.S. 287 alignment.[citation needed] That was followed by other expressway links including U.S. 82–287 east to Henrietta (completed in 1968), U.S. 281 south toward Jacksboro (completed 1969), U.S. 287 northwest to Iowa Parki and Electra (opened 1962), Interstate 44 north to Burkburnett and the Red River (opened 1964), and Interstate 44 from Old Iowa Park Road to U.S. 287/Spur 325 interchange on the city's north side along with Spur 325 itself from I-44/U.S. 287 to the main gate of Sheppard Air Force Base (both completed as one single project in 1960).[citation needed] However, cross-country traffic for many years had to contend with several ground-level intersections and stop lights over Holliday and Broad streets near the downtown area for approximately thirteen blocks between connecting expressway links until a new elevated freeway running overhead was completed in 2001.[citation needed]

Efforts to create an additional freeway along the path of Kell Boulevard for U.S. 82–277 began in 1967 with the acquisition of right-of-way that included a former railroad right-of-way and the first project including construction of the present frontage roads completed in 1977, followed by freeway lanes, overpasses and on/off ramps in 1989 from just east of Brook Avenue west to Kemp Boulevard; and similar projects west from Kemp to Barnett Road in 2001 followed by Barnett Road west past FM 369 in 2010 to tie in which a project now underway to transform U.S. 277 into a continuous four-lane expressway between Wichita Falls and Abilene.[citation needed]

Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service from Wichita Falls to other locations served by Greyhound via its terminal at the Jolly truck stop outside of town. Skylark Van Service shuttles passengers to and from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on several runs during the day all week long.[citation needed]

From 1911 to 1932, the Wichita Falls Motor Company, located on Arthur Street in Wichita Falls, built some ten thousand heavy-duty vehicles, mostly trucks, for use by a number of specific industries, such as logging and oil. Known for their strength and durability, the trucks were adopted by the United States Army and many fire and highway departments.[41]

The company was founded by Joseph Kemp, who became its largest shareholder. He had also procured fortunes in dry goods, groceries, banking, railroads, dairying, and petroleum. The trucks were sold worldwide; the French Army purchased 3,500 vehicles, and Russia bought 400. The company hence adopted the slogan, "The sun never sets on a Wichita truck."[41]

The former Wichita Falls Motor Company building on Arthur Street now houses Wichita Energy Company

At its peak during World War I, the plant employed one hundred workers. It sold a hundred passenger buses to New Orleans. In 1922, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce tried to lure the company to relocate to the Alamo City, but the offer was never considered. Two years before it ceased operations, the Wichita Falls Motor Company issued a concrete mixer truck. The era of independent vehicle manufacturing came to a quick end, and the company could not compete during the Great Depression with the much larger Ford and General Motors, which entered the heavy truck business to compensate for losses in the sale of passenger vehicles.[41]

The Wichita Falls Motor Company was located in the building now occupied by Wichita Energy Company, which owns and maintains one of the original Wichita Trucks.[41] The collector John Chadwell is, meanwhile, working to preserve for history the remaining artifacts left behind by Kemp's company.[42]

^The previous record was 79 in 1980; there was a 52-day stretch, June 22 to August 12, of uninterrupted 100 °F highs, and 100-day stretch, May 27 to September 3, of interrupted 90 °F highs. In addition, the all-time warm daily minimum of 88 °F (31 °C) was set on July 26, and June, July, and August of that year were all the hottest on record.[19]

^Le Templar (March 19, 1999). "Historic District Could Expand". Wichita Falls Times Record News (Wichita Falls, Texas: E. W. Scripps Company). p. A1. ISSN0895-6138. Retrieved 2010-10-09. The Wichita Falls Landmark Commission wants to more than double the size of the downtown historic district in an effort to slow the loss of buildings that proclaim the city's heritage. Commission members voted unanimously Thursday for expanding the district to include a total of 77 buildings on Indiana and Ohio streets.